Shaving Shaggy dogs

[5Bordercollies]

Hi everyone, I was wondering whether anyone on this forum shave their dogs in summer? If so why, and what are your experience. Some groomers claim that shaving ruins the dogs' coats. I have one bitch that I normally shave every summer and she seems to be none the worse off as far as coat goes vs the other four that doesn't normally get shaved. But summer has barely begun and they are wet, muddy messes. We've started to water the garden and they love playing in the water and then running through the dirt to go chase the goats\ horses near the fence. And then if a thunderstorm comes tonight they come and sleep in my bedroom. Three of the four that doesn't normally get shaved have long thick flowing coats, so their legs and tummies are permanently wet and muddy. One of those is also being started on the goats, so if we get rain this year I might very well soon add goat kraal slush to add to the fun. :-(

So I"m playing with the idea of shaving (not to the skin, just shorten) the others also.

 

[Shetlander]

I have never shaved my Border Collie or Shelties, and actually my Shelties with their big mink coats have been quite heat tolerant, at least until very old age. I have also heard that shaving can ruin coats. I do have the Lhasa's coat trimmed various ways through the year with his summer cut being a pretty close shave. He seems much happier that way and his coat grows back fine, but his fur is very different from a Border Collie's.

[Tommy Coyote]

We had a thread on this recently. Sometimes the coat never comes back. That happened to an aussie that I take care of. He was shaved last summer and most of his coat never came back in. He looks just horrible.

[GentleLake]

I have also read on more than one occasion that a dog's coat actually insulates it from heat, making it counterproductive for keeping them cooler. I know that's not your concern here, though.

 

Some of the recommendations, though, for helping dogs who mind the heat is to shear their bellies, rather than the whole dog. Could that be an option for you? Maybe if their belly and chest fur weren't so long, they wouldn't tack so much mud and dirt into the house.

[Gloria Atwater]

I sheared my Aussie's belly this summer but that's as far as I go. If they're shorn close all over, depending on the dog and coat, the sun and its heat can reach their skin in ways it didn't with the full coat. Dogs don't cool through their skin, after all, they cool through their paws and mouths. So, I feel that trimming their bellies simply lets them get water or cool grass on their skin withOUT removing natural insulation or risking sunburn.

That's my theory, anyhow.

I did once know an Aussie/Belgian shepherd cross who had a HUGE coat, and he actually enjoyed his annual spring shearing - but he also had incredibly dense undercoat so that, even sheared, he still had a layer of "wool" between him and the sun.

~ Gloria

[urge to herd]

I close clipped both my females every summer the last few years of their lives. Both coats grew back in just fine, and both dogs visibly were more comfortable.

 

One girl had very fine, cotton candy undercoat that everything stuck to. All 3 of my dogs could romp in the same field, and Sammie always came back with about 20 times more seeds/stickers, etc., than the other 2.

 

Shoshone had a coarser coat, but hers grew back fine, too.

 

I'd at least close clip their bellies and chests and trim their leg/haunch feathers really close.

 

We also set up an outdoor dog rinse, with warm water. Our winter is our rainy season, so for them to get rinsed outside in cold weather made things a bit easier.

 

Good luck!

 

Ruth

[5Bordercollies]

Ruth, now that's something I really have to save up for this summer - a warm water outdoor dog rinse\ washing place. Right now we only have cold water outside so whenever I have to give them a bath warm water literally has to be brought outside bu the bucketful. My male Zorro's belly and legs are currently shaved, he had a romp in the veld and came back with sticklers basically covering his whole belly and legs. I took one look and said "clipper" Sorry buddy, but I think it was still better than trying to comb or brush it out.

Xena the one that's shaved annually has one of those harsh, rough coats that mat easily and she has this habit of constantly running pathways across the yard and woe to the person who tries to brush out that mess! She will snap and threaten to bite, so once a year I just hold her close, pray she doesn't actually go through with her threat and shave her down. Not to the skin, I have a longer blade that I use.

Thanks for all the answers guys. I guess at least for now I'll just keep the belly and legs trimmed short. And brush them a little more often, something I sadly have to admit I neglect.

[Alchemist]

http://groomblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/shaving-dogs-for-summer-consider-this.html

[KrisK]

Spark, my rescue dog, was shaved down completely in May this year by his previous owners. He suffered (and still does) from the heat whereas my full coated BC's, did not appear as hot as he did. Personally, a bit of tummy trimming might be okay, but I wouldn't shave a Border collie. Spark's coat is slowly coming back but so far, its fluffy with no guard hairs at all.

[Flamincomet]

If you do choose to shave your double coated dog, it's very important to brush them very regularly as the coat grows back in. Some of the reason coat doesn't grow back properly after being shaved is because the undercoat chokes out the guard hairs. Personally I wouldn't do it to my own dogs, but I had clients that requested it. Usually I could talk them into a longer length with a clipper comb that doesn't take the guard hairs shorter than the undercoat, but most of the clients who were shaved with a blade grew back fluffy, lighter, and a different texture (usually cottony), which then caused the owner's to want them shaved again as this type of coat is not attractive and everything sticks to it. It's a vicious cycle. If I absolutely needed to I would consider shaving bellies.

[BCjetta]

I use a Mars Coat King to thin the undercoat right out on mine (it works excellent) and then I will use thinning shears to make the belly hair about an inch long and shorten/thin the bum fuzz and front leg fuzz to about an inch as well. My boss has aussies and has shaved all of them (3) but one and their coats always grew back normally except the one that got cushings disease (hair not growing back is a sign of that).

[Kelleybean]

We never had a problem with coat growing back in-until we had a problem. I have a golden with an incredibly thick coat, and always shaved her in May and by Oct it was fully grown back in. I had her shaved two years ago her coat STILL hasn't grown back in completely. (She's 6 BTW) DON'T DO IT!!!

[mum24dog]

http://groomblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/shaving-dogs-for-summer-consider-this.html

 

Great link thanks. I've saved it for when the subject come up elsewhere.

[Alchemist]

Thanks - but I shouldn't take credit for it. Someone posted this link the last time the topic of shaving dogs came up, and I liked it so much I bookmarked it.

[Kian's Mom]

I have 2 different sizes of the hard plastic kiddie pools that I keep water in. The sun will warm it up so I don't have to add warm water to it. My BC is a medium coat and this is where she spends a lot of her time cooling off so the water gets changed often. When she decides to become a mud puppy I just put her in there and wash her off and change the water when finished. They are both big enough that she will lay down in them and that washes her belly and if its just mainly her feet playing in the pool will clean them.

If the OP doesn't have one might consider getting one.

Jan

[5Bordercollies]

Thanks ever so much everyone. I guess we won't be shaving at least four of the five this summer. I will have to do some serious thinking about Xena. She doesn't have the nice silky coat of the others. She has quite a rough coat and absolutely hates brushing. I will trim feet and bellies with a good scissors that I will need to buy. Kian's mom, we actually have a garden pond that they all love and are already starting to frequent. Problem is it doesn't get cleaned as often as ideal. And Thunderstorms here in Africa sometimes arrive middle of night. No time for washing feet then.

[Flamincomet]

For dirty paws I use this: http://www.wag.com/dog/p/paw-clean-by-ginsey-canine-foot-bath-green-102074 Quick and easy to use, and works like a charm.